News Releases and Statements

Erik Khan, 32, of Las Cruces, was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with distributing, receiving and possessing child pornography. Khan, who has been employed as a basketball coach at a Las Cruces middle school, made his initial appearance in federal court in Las Cruces May 23 and is being held without bond.

Twenty-four individuals were charged Wednesday as part of an international car theft ring responsible for the exportation of stolen vehicles to various West African countries. The case was investigated by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Mario Carballo, a citizen of El Salvador, was sentenced to 18 months in prison Tuesday for transporting illegal aliens for profit through Mississippi, following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Mississippi Highway Patrol.

Stephen Graham-Wright was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison Wednesday on child sexual exploitation charges. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents conducted forensics examinations of computers belonging to Graham-Wright, which revealed video footage of Graham-Wright and a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Stephen Cutter of Grand Rapids, Mich., was sentenced to seven years in federal prison Tuesday on charges of receiving child pornography, following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations. HSI special agents discovered hundreds of images of child pornography on media storage devices in his possession.

A former U.S. ICE Top 10 Most Wanted fugitive, Veniamin Gonikman, was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison for crimes related to an international conspiracy to compel women to work in exotic dance clubs in metropolitan Detroit.

Alan Verschleisser, 66, and James Robinson, 41, both of Baltimore, pleaded guilty to their participation in the conspiracy and were sentenced to three years in prison and 33 months in prison.

This week, two special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) were honored for the work on Operation Delego - the significant criminal investigation that helped dismantle an online child exploitation network called Dreamboard.

A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment Wednesday, charging Andrew Dale McKee with two counts of attempted enticement of a minor and one count of transferring obscene material to a minor (via Facebook).

Juan Ricardo Puente-Paez was sentenced to seven years and 11 months in federal prison for trafficking firearms, ammunition and military vests, following an investigation that began in May 2010 conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Michael D. Arnett of Roeland Park, Kan., is charged with one count of producing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography.

Jeffrey Wayne Day was sentenced Monday to 15 years in federal prison, following his guilty plea in October 2011 to one count of transporting and shipping child pornography. A forensic examination of the computer equipment seized from Day's residence revealed more than 20,000 images and videos of child pornography.

Fernando Alejandro Cano Martinez, a Mexican businessman from Ciudad Victoria, Mexico, was indicted Tuesday following a multi-agency Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force investigation. This indictment stems from a long-term investigation targeting alleged money laundering activities inside the United States.

Three individuals were sentenced to federal prison Tuesday for their roles in an alien smuggling scheme that resulted in the death of a 70 year-old woman when an SUV carrying smugglers and illegal aliens crashed through the victim's home. The investigation was conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations.

ICE's Homeland Security Investigations special agents and New York Police Department (NYPD) officers swarmed a six-story building in the heart of Chinatown Monday evening with search warrants to seize proceeds from an illegal gambling parlor. Nearly half of the building was used for illegal gambling activities.

This case was investigated by HSI, with assistance provided by the Mississippi Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda Haynes, Southern District of Mississippi.

Fifty-five individuals in 20 countries, including the United States, have been identified as part of a multi-agency, international operation targeting individuals using social networking groups to exchange child pornography. During the investigation, 12 children were also identified and removed from harm.

Markos Baghdasarian, the president of a South Carolina-based firm specializing in synthesized motor oils, was arrested Saturday for exporting goods from the United States to Iran without the required U.S. Department of the Treasury licenses, following an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Department of Commerce...

Gregory Joel Sitzmann, a drug trafficker believed to have been operating since at least the 1980s, was convicted by a jury Monday of a federal drug conspiracy charge for his role as the leader of an international drug trafficking and money laundering ring that operated at least 14 years out of the United States, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Bahamas...

Robert L. Hedrick, the former president of the Brownsville-based Pan-American Airways, was found guilty Monday of attempting to sexually exploit children, transferring obscene materials to a minor, and distributing and possessing child pornography.

Roger Lee Wagner, 56, of Schertz, Texas, was sentenced May 18 to 200 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, Western District of Texas. Judge Biery also ordered Wagner to pay a $1,000 restitution fee to three victims and $100 special assessment fee.

Bryan Martin of Portland, Texas, was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison for using a telephone and a computer connected to the Internet to coerce and entice a minor to engage in sexual activity. The joint investigation was conducted by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations and the Corpus Christi Police Department.

Simon Casares-Rodriguez, a previously deported Mexico national, was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison for re-entering the United States after being deported. The sentence resulted from an investigation by ICE's Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO).

Russell Weisz was sentenced in federal court Monday to nearly six years in prison for possessing child pornography. This sentence resulted from an investigation by ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in cooperation with the Bismarck Police Department, the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation...

John D. Roach, 64, of Topeka, was convicted on one count of possessing child pornography. Prosecutors presented evidence that Roach used his father's credit card to purchase access to a Russian website that distributed child pornography. Investigators followed an electronic trail to Roach's home in Topeka where they found more than 600 images of child pornography and 41 movies containing child pornography on his computer, drives and CDs.